Years ago, in the mid 1980s, my family bought a Schimmel 118T which has served me well and which I only recently replaced (actually I still have it) with a Yamaha grand with which I am absolutely thrilled. The Schimmel had a great action - it' still pretty good - and a depth of tone which beat many small grands. I have loved playing it for many years.
Recently the opportunity arose to help purchase a new upright piano for examination use, and practising, in a medium sized room. Following advice from a dealer who told me that a Schimmel upright was leagues ahead of any Yamaha upright for the same 7k budget, I tried a brand new Schimmel 120 which had apparently been carefully selected from Germany. I was shocked to find that it was a very bright (almost tinny) instrument with virtually no "depth" at all and - to my mind - nowhere near its 22 year old sibling in terms of quality - and nowhere near a Yamaha U5.
Is this just bad luck with the particualr example I was offered, can anyone tell me, or have Schimmel uprights changed over the years? In my opinion not even the cabinet of the 120 is of the same quality as the old 118 and, again, the Yamaha U5 (and U3) seems to have a much more solid feel of quality in this respect as well.
Schimmel uprights
Moderators: Feg, Gill the Piano, Melodytune
This is helpful: thank you. I think, rather than wait until there's another Schimmel to try (or, indeed, travelling to play a selection of them), I am going to see what Yamaha can come up with. The U5, which I have at work, seems to have been rebadged or replaced by a rather more costly YUS5. In my opinion the U5 is markedly "better" than the U3 (of which there are two at work) but, as you say, it's all very subjective.
What did you settle for after trying Schimmel and Kemble? And what else do you suggest that I should be looking at?
What did you settle for after trying Schimmel and Kemble? And what else do you suggest that I should be looking at?
The YUS5 has a more basic frame design than the U5, featuring a pressure-bar throughout the scale rather than the old U5's partial (more expensive to engineer) agraffe scale. In this respect the new more expensive piano uses a cheaper construction method. This means that the YUS5 now uses a very similar frame to the U3.Jazzer wrote:This is helpful: thank you. I think, rather than wait until there's another Schimmel to try (or, indeed, travelling to play a selection of them), I am going to see what Yamaha can come up with. The U5, which I have at work, seems to have been rebadged or replaced by a rather more costly YUS5. In my opinion the U5 is markedly "better" than the U3 (of which there are two at work) but, as you say, it's all very subjective.
Both YUS5 and U5 are so pig-ugly I'd save my cash and settle for a U3 now that the U5 which at least ameliorated this with a marginal sonic advantage is NLA.
I'd wager that a properly prepared U3 could be made to sound better than an out of the box YUS5, seeing as the components are so similar.
Schimmels are "just OK" as far as I'm concerned. Well made, German and very much the Volkswagen Passat of pianos. They are bland and safe enough, nothing to dislike, or like for that matter. They really don't do much for me one way or the other. They do have a high price though, and a range of foul casework options are available for the tasteless.
I went for a Yamaha YUS1.
My experience with uprights so far is as follows:
1. There's a limit to how exciting any upright can be, whatever the manufacturers tell you.
2. There are better upright pianos than Yamaha out there.
3. The better pianos are much more expensive than Yamahas and at the end of the day they're still just uprights.
3. Yamahas are robustly built, reliable and sound fine.
4. Buy a Yamaha upright.
5. BUT
5. Save up for a Steinway 'B' because otherwise what's the point of life?
My experience with uprights so far is as follows:
1. There's a limit to how exciting any upright can be, whatever the manufacturers tell you.
2. There are better upright pianos than Yamaha out there.
3. The better pianos are much more expensive than Yamahas and at the end of the day they're still just uprights.
3. Yamahas are robustly built, reliable and sound fine.
4. Buy a Yamaha upright.
5. BUT
5. Save up for a Steinway 'B' because otherwise what's the point of life?
Yes, agreed, but you can find uprights which have a considerable element of excitement to them. I used to think that Schimmels had that extra spark (my old 118 still has a fair bit of it) but I'm off to look at Yamaha this afternoon and, given the budget, I'm fairly certain that's what we'll end up with. I don't find the YUS5/U5 too ugly, either, so that would be fine!Openwood wrote: 1. There's a limit to how exciting any upright can be, whatever the manufacturers tell you.
I agree! I have played some fantastic Bs and would love one of my own at home one day. Meanwhile, though, three months ago I bought a Yamaha C7 and am utterly delighted with it. The problem is that I now really will never be able to afford a Steinway! Very good, though, the C7, and at times I can almost imagine that it really is a Steinway B (almost...)!Openwood wrote: BUT
5. Save up for a Steinway 'B' because otherwise what's the point of life?
We bought a Yamaha C7 at work a couple of years ago and I fully agree with you. It's a superb piano with a phenomenal bass and endless possibilities for tone colour in the treble. It was worth every penny and frankly it leaves other, far more expensive brands looking a bit pathetic. If I HAD to make a criticism I'd say that the middle register is perhaps a little under-powered in relation to the bass and treble and the change in string tone from the middle register to the bass is rather obvious but those are very small quibbles with a fantastic piano.
For me personally the Steinway B remains the piano I want to have in my home one day, but in the meantime I hope to get myself a Yamaha C6 later this year. You hear all this stuff about European pianos being more mellow blah blah but I've just found them to be bland.
For me personally the Steinway B remains the piano I want to have in my home one day, but in the meantime I hope to get myself a Yamaha C6 later this year. You hear all this stuff about European pianos being more mellow blah blah but I've just found them to be bland.
I think it's going to be a Yamaha YUS3 - a good upright, I reckon, with a clear sparkling tone and plenty of depth. No more of Schimmel, then!
Thank you for comments and help.
The C7 is absolutely superb, yes! I think I agree with your minor criticism of it. But I'm tempted to start a thread called "Yamaha C7" just to allow everyone to praise it (!) - and would be interesting to see if anyone does not think it's a great instrument....
Thank you for comments and help.
The C7 is absolutely superb, yes! I think I agree with your minor criticism of it. But I'm tempted to start a thread called "Yamaha C7" just to allow everyone to praise it (!) - and would be interesting to see if anyone does not think it's a great instrument....